Who are the 18 Sikhs Who’ve Been Voted into Canadian Parliament?

Eighteen Sikhs have been voted into the Canadian parliament in the recently concluded elections.

18 Sikhs Have Been Voted Into Canadian Parliament

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta, Ashutosh Bharadwaj

Eighteen Sikhs have been voted to the Canadian Parliament in the recently concluded elections. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to power after his Liberal Party won 157 out of 338 seats.

Among the newly-elected Sikh MPs in Canada, 13 are from the Liberal Party.

1. Harjit Singh Sajjan

Born in Bombeli in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district. Harjit Sajjan is Canada's first Sikh Minister of National Defence. He has previously served in the Vancouver Police department and the Canadian armed forces.

Harjit Singh Sajjan(Photo: Wikipedia)

2. Randeep Singh Sarai

Born and raised in Vancouver, Randeep Sarai is an entrepreneur and practiced law before his tryst with politics. When not in parliament, Sarai spends his time doing yoga, playing soccer and jogging.

Randeep Singh Sarai(Photo: openparliament.ca)

3. Sukh Dhaliwal

Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, Sukh Dhaliwal moved to Canada in 1984. In June 2010, he moved a motion in the Canadian parliament to declare the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a 'genocide'.

Sukh Dhaliwal(Photo: Wikipedia)

4. Navdeep Singh Bains

Born in Toronto, Navdeep Bains is also a chartered accountant. He has worked with Nike and Ford Motors before joining politics. At 26, he was elected as the youngest liberal MP in 2004.

Navdeep Singh Bains(Photo: Wikipedia)

5. Kamal Khera

Born in Delhi, Kamal Khera is also a registered nurse. She worked in the health sector before entering politics. At 26, she was elected as the youngest woman liberal MP.

Kamal Khera (Photo: kamalkheramp.liberal.ca)

6. Gagan Sikand

Born in Toronto, Gagan Sikand is a lawyer and politician. His father, Baljit Sikand, qualified for India’s 1984 Olympic field hockey team but moved to Canada in 1981. Sikand was born in 1984.

Gagan Sikand(Photo: gsikand.liberal.ca)

7. Rameshwar Singh Sangha

Born in Punjab's Jalandhar, Rameshwar Sangha's family had moved to Canada in 1995. In September 2019, Sangha had warned his liberal party over backing Khalistan supporters.

Rameshwar Singh Sangha(Photo: twitter.com/sangharamesh)

8. Ruby Sahota

Born in Toronto, Ruby Sahota worked as a criminal lawyer before entering politics. Her family had moved to Canada in late 1970s. Her father was the chairperson of the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara council.

Ruby Sahota(Photo: rsahota.liberal.ca/biography)

9. Maninder Singh Sidhu

Born in Punjab, Maninder Singh Sidhu is an entrepreneur and a liberal newcomer. Maninder is still a member of the charity society of his native Malsian Khas village.

Maninder Singh Sidhu(Photo: facebook.com/MSidhuLiberal)

10. Sonia Sidhu

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, Sonia Sidhu moved to Canada in 1992. She worked as a diabetes educator for 18 years before entering politics.

Sonia Sidhu (Photo: Wikipedia)

11. Bardish Chagger

Bardish Chagger was born in Ontario's Waterloo after her parents moved to Canada in the late 1970s. Her father, Goggi Chagger, was a liberal leader too.

Bardish Chagger (Photo: Wikipedia)

12. Raj Saini

Born in Himachal Pradesh, Raj Saini worked as a pharmacist, having moved to Kitchener to start Greenbrook Pharmacy, a local independent business which he has co-owned and operated for more than 20 years.

Raj Saini(Photo: Wikipedia)

13. Anju Dhillon

Born and raised in Montreal, Anju Dhillon was a liberal party volunteer from the age of 13. She practiced law for eight years before joining politics.

Anju Dhillon(Photo: twitter.com/adhillonDLL/photo)

The main opposition, the Conservatives, secured 121 seats in the Canadian elections. Among the newly elected Sikh MPs in Canada, four from the Conservative Party.

1. Tim Singh Uppal

Born in New Westminster, Tim Singh Uppal is a banker and politician. Uppal was a radio jockey before he joined politics

Tim Singh Uppal(Photo: Wikipedia)

2. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Born in Dubai, Jasraj Singh Hallan moved to Canada when he was a child. He also runs a homebuilding business.

Jasraj Singh Hallan(Photo: Twitter)

3. Jag Sahota

Jag Sahota is an Indian-origin politician from Canada. She practiced law before contesting elections.

Jag Sahota(Photo: Wikipedia)

4. Bob Saroya

Born in Punjab, Bob Saroya moved to Canada in 1974. He owned several restaurants before contesting elections in 2008.

Bob Saroya(Photo: Wikipedia)

Jagmeet Singh

Jagmeet Singh(Photo: AP)

Trudeau will lead a minority government because his party failed to secure a majority of 170 MPs in the parliament. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh is the kingmaker. Trudeau will need his help to form a majority government.

Born in Ontario, Jagmeet practiced as a criminal lawyer before contesting elections in 2011. His parents moved to Canada in 1970s. His grandfather was a freedom fighter. He has also spoken out about being sexually abused as a child

The number of Sikh MPs in the Canadian Parliament’s House of Commons is higher than those in the Lok Sabha even though Sikhs make up about 2 percent of the population in both the countries, While 18 Sikhs have been elected to the Canadian Parliament in the recently concluded Canadian elections, there are currently 13 Sikh MPs in the Lok Sabha.